Citi Perspectives Fall 2019

Citi Perspectives  | 47 46 | Treasury and Trade Solutions Preparing for a digital future While most SSCs are not yet prepared for a full-scale shift to a digital operating model, many are shifting toward knowledge-based activities with greater use of RPA, data and AI. In planning for the future, companies need to understand how and where digital technologies can be applied within an SSC operation. Three technologies stand out as relevant: • Intelligent automation refers to the automation of a company’s processes, including specific task-level processes using RPA, supported by analytics and decisions made by AI. RPA is a key area of focus for many SSCs and has numerous potential use cases, including automating claims processing, client onboarding as part of customer due diligence, assessment, and screening. Other opportunities include cash application automation (using the Citi ® Smart Match solution, for example) and automated billing, including generation of invoices to a customer portal when an order is received. A clear vision and ambition for automation is essential to drive forward an RPA project. It may be necessary to re-engineer processes so that they operate effectively with RPA. • AI and machine learning (ML) applications for forecasting, virtual assistants and chatbots, and fraud detection can reduce costs by automating processes and improving both productivity and accuracy. One potential constraint when leveraging AI or ML is that many companies do not have access to clean data. To mitigate SSC payment processing risks, Citi has launched a Citi Payment Outlier Detection tool which uses AI and ML to help identify unusual payments for further client review before they are processed. • APIs offer the potential for SSCs to move away from batch processing to a real- time environment, accelerating the cash application process, balance inquiries and liquidity reports. API technology can also help SSCs improve operational and financial efficiencies. For instance, an API-based real-time balance check removes the need for employees to manually log in and check a balance before releasing a batch of payments. APIs can also help improve the efficiency of accounts payables. For example, Citi’s Payment Insights solution leverages SWIFT global payments innovation (gpi) to provide full visibility of the payment status and charges applied throughout the banking chain. • Cloud-based IT environments enable better end-to-end integration of operations; the cloud is increasingly the foundation on which other innovations are built. Corporates were initially attracted by the cloud’s lower costs and networked backups. Now companies are turning to the cloud for access to intelligent automation, distributed ledger technology and quantum computing. For SSCs, these emerging technologies offer common core potential benefits — cost savings, reduced errors, greater productivity, improved governance and control and more timely insights to help the enterprise make more informed decisions. While most SSCs are not yet prepared for a full-scale shift to a digital operating model, many are shifting toward knowledge-based activities with greater use of RPA, data and AI.